Passport to Texas

Scissor-tailed flycatcher; photo by Robert Bunch

Texas' 12 Most Beautiful Birds Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

No parent wants to openly admit they have a favorite child, just as ornithologist, Cliff Shackelford, hesitated to reveal his picks for Texas’ 12 most beautiful birds in an article for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine’s May issue. He called it a 639 way tie.

07—The 639 is how many birds are documented in Texas; and to me, they all have some beauty in one form or another.

Cliff said his picks were not the “obvious choices.”

22— I kept out—purposefully—birds that most people would agree are super gorgeous and super obvious; things like: Northern Cardinal, Cedar Waxwing, Painted Bunting… You can’t be a ‘shoe in’. And I think some of these birds are considers a shoe in, but [sigh] too much bling, too much gaudiness, like in a painted bunting—to me—kept it off the list.

In fact, the color of a bird’s plumage had less to do with it making the list of beautiful birds than did its behavior.

20— And I pointed that out in the article. Some birds maybe didn’t have the jazziest colors, but they excelled in other ways. Like, the Swallow-tailed Kite is a very simple black and white
bird, but the Swallow-tailed Kite makes up for it with its graceful flight—very effortlessly soaring against a blue sky—is just, to me, breathtaking and beautiful.

Which birds made Cliff Shackelford’s list for most beautiful? Find out in the May issue of TPW magazine. What’s on your list of beautiful Texas birds? Tell us at passporttotexas.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Picnics in state parks do not have to be complicated.

May is a Great Month to Picnic at State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

May is the start of picnicking season in Texas. Angela Shelf Medearis, an author and cook, whose moniker is The Kitchen Diva, offers tips for a stress-free picnic.

62— Well, let me give you Diva Picnic 101. For one – make foods that you could do in advance. If I was doing a picnic, I would have something like a really good roast chicken; just cut the pieces up and pack those in there. I do a Carolina Cole Slaw; you toss it up, throw it in the refrigerator – it gets better day-by-day. So, if you want to do that ahead you could. You don’t have to worry about having to do everything that day. That takes all the fun out of the picnic to me if you’re trying to do all the food prep, and pack everything, and get everybody to the park. So, start your picnic a few days ahead. Use a lot of fresh fruits for dessert. The thing about a picnic that I love is you can totally unplug and really focus on the people you should be paying the most attention to. You can get out in nature; we have some beautiful parks. Some beautiful places to go in Texas. And, it gives you a chance to really focus on the most important things: your family, nature, the beauty of life… So, do a little planning ahead, and pick dishes that will be fine hot or cold, and you can’t go wrong for a great picnic.

Remember: always pack out what you pack in, and leave your picnic site in better condition than you found it.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Fun at the Toyota Texas Bass Classic

Attending the Toyota Texas Bass Classic Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The long Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time to gather the family and head to the Toyota Texas Bass Classic at Lake Fork, 65 miles east of Dallas. It’s a professional bass fishing tournament….

11– Fishing is just one part of it. It’s an awesome time to bring your family and come listen to country and western music. Also a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoor adventures area supported by Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Dave Terre is with Inland Fisheries.

19– Your kids can meet with some of our fisheries biologists; maybe learn how to cast, how to shoot a bow, how to camp. There are lots of hands on activities for kids and families. Is there a cost to go to the event? There is a small cost to the event, but there is no charge for parking. You can get information at the toyotatexasbassclassic.com website.

If you’re looking for more of a hands-on opportunity, the event always needs volunteers.

15– You can register to be a volunteer for the tournament, at toyotatexasbassclassic.com. If you would like to work with Texas Parks and Wildlife specifically, indicate that there on the site. And, as a benefit to that, you’ll get into the Toyota Texas Bass Classic for free.

The Toyota Texas bass Classic is Memorial Day Weekend at Lake Fork.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

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This is Passport to Texas

The Ninth Annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic returns to Lake Fork Memorial Day Weekend.

07– It’s an event that helps showcase some of our great fisheries across the state–Lake Fork being one of the best bass fisheries.

Dave Terre, with Inland Fisheries, says this professional bass tournament raises the bar with regards to the  handling of  fish.

27– One thing that’s really unique about the Toyota Texas bass Classic is that it employs a totally new tournament format. The format, itself, allows for the fish that are caught during the tournament to actually be weighed in the boat and immediately released, rather than coming to the stage and being weighed in front of an audience, which puts stress on fish. So, this tournament really revolutionized the way
tournaments might be held in the future.

Lake Fork is known for its lunkers–largemouth bass that tip the scales at more than 13 pounds.  While the pros have yet to catch one during the 8 years of the tournament, Terre says: this might be their lucky year.

15–I’ve been promising a lunker for a pretty good number of years right now. But you know what? I think this is the year. We’ve had numerous fish caught over 10 pounds; we’ve never broken that 13 pound barrier. But I think Lake Fork–it could happen this year.  But you need to be there to witness it yourself.

Go to toyotatexasbassclassic.com for ticket information and a schedule of activities for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic Memorial Day Weekend.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife’I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

Toyota Texas Bass Classic Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Memorial Day Weekend, Lake Fork Reservoir, 65 miles east of Dallas, is the site of the Ninth Annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

08-What it is, is a world class fishing tournament for professional anglers. It’s also a benefit event for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Dave Terre, chief of fisheries management and research at Parks and Wildlife, says the event showcases the state’s quality fisheries, with Lake Fork being among the best bass fisheries in the country.

18- Last year was just incredible. Two anglers caught over a hundred pounds of bass in three days [and] set all sorts of records for numbers and weights of bass caught. So, this year, the bar has been set very high; and hopefully we’ll be able to exceed that. But there’s one way to find out, and that’s to come to the lake and see it for yourself.

Find ticket information and a schedule of activities at toyotatexasbassclassic.com. Money from the event funds outreach programs.

16-In the eight events that we’ve had so far, we’ve raised over two million dollars. And those dollars have been plugged directly back into youth fishing outreach. It’s brought new kids and their families [and others] into fishing through the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, by helping to fund our programs.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Memorial Day Weekend offers a stellar country music line-up, food and outdoor adventure activities for the family: find ticket information and other details at toyotatexasbassclassic.com.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.